Barroso: I would have sacked John Dalli had he not resigned

European Commission President Jose’ Manuel Barroso told a court in Luxembourg today that former Health Commissioner John Dalli had accepted that it was imprudent of him to have had meetings with people from the tobacco lobby in Malta. The Commission President also stressed that following an Olaf report which found circumstantial evidence that Mr Dalli must have known that an associate (Silvio Zammit) was allegedly trading in influence, he had lost confidence in Mr Dalli, and had he not resigned, he would have sacked him. Testifying in a case for unfair dismissal filed by Mr Dalli, Mr Barroso said he could not understand how Mr Dalli could have had these bizarre meetings thousands of miles away from the commission without any officials being present. Furthermore, these meetings were being organised by a bar or restaurant owner (Silvio Zammit). 'HIS POSITION WAS UNTENABLE' “It was clear to me that his position was untenable. I am a lawyer by training and to me the presumption of innocence is vital, but this is about political implications,” Mr Barroso said. “I told Mr Dalli to resign voluntarily and added that if he would not, I would make him under the provisions of the...